Study and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders
Gastrointestinal (GI) and nutritional disorders have a tremendous impact on Canadians’ sense of well-being. However, the lengthy pathway between the laboratory and the patient often prevents promising research findings from getting to patients quickly. To address this critical gap in the research-to-patient continuum, we have established a “Human Laboratory” that will take scientific discoveries from the fields of gastroenterology and nutrition to the clinic. Strategically embedded within Kingston’s primary hospital, the Human Laboratory permits high-quality human research and training to be conducted within the confines of a busy patient care setting. We already have an established pipeline of novel, promising "patient-ready" discoveries, including synthetic stool probiotics, primed for testing in patients. Our unique breadth of basic and clinical expertise, as well our extensive academic, industrial and commercial partnerships, will ensure that we realize the full socioeconomic impact of products in a timely fashion.
Chemostat suite (used to generate probiotics based on communities of beneficial human bacteria); research endoscopy suite; human GI tissue biobanking and processing; human GI physiology laboratory; human clinical trials and data analysis
- Education
- Healthcare and social services
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
|
Specialized lab |
Equipment |
Function |
|---|---|---|
|
Chemostat Suite |
Multifors chemostat system |
Culture of synthetic microbial stool communities |
|
|
Anaerobic workstation |
Culture of individual synthetic stool components under strictly anaerobic conditions |
|
Research Endoscopy Suite |
Research endoscopes |
Enables clinical studies, tissue and microbiome sampling, and delivery of therapeutic treatments |
|
Biobanking Facility Workstation |
Freezerworks biobanking software, ultra-low freezers, centrifuges, pipettors. |
Specialized software allowing for accurate, large-scale databanking |
|
Human Tissue Research Laboratory |
Dissecting microscopes |
Permits the fine dissections necessary to perform recordings of nerve fibers from human intestinal tissue |
|
|
Ussing chambers |
Critical for the study of the neural and immunological regulation of epithelial ionic transport in the gut |
|
|
Patch-clamp electrophysiology equipment |
Allows for the study of electrical signaling events at the level of the cell membrane of nerves and muscles; critical for deciphering their biological functions |
|
|
Calcium imaging system |
Detects changes in intracellular calcium levels in live cells, which plays a vital role in many cell signaling processes |
|
|
Afferent recording equipment |
Records electrical nerve impulses (action potentials) occurring in the gut |
Additional information
|
Title |
URL |
|---|---|
|
Welcome to GIDRU |
|
|
Dr. Vanner describes ongoing research at GIDRU |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwmuUfUppQk&feature=youtu.be |
|
Dr. Reed discusses his research at GIDRU |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoA8M5ce5vE&feature=youtu.be |
|
New Bowel Study Historic |
|
|
Centre to Welcome Patient Research Centre |
http://www.thewhig.com/2017/08/14/centre-to-welcome-patience-research-centre |
|
New Era of Health Research in Kingston |
http://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/new-era-health-research-kingston?utm_source=e-queens-gazette_… |